The Guardian brings the word on the catastrophic failure of Uma Thurman's film, "Motherhood": (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/mar/26/uma-thurman-motherhood-flop)

Over its opening weekend, no more than a dozen people went to see Motherhood, a semi-autobiographical account of stressed-out Manhattan parenting written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann. The film made just £88 on the weekend of Friday 5 March. On its debut Sunday, box office takings were £9, meaning one person bought a ticket.

Edelbaum is adamant that Metrodome must be to blame, and insisted that she would demand a full explanation. "Think how much crap succeeds at the cinema," she said. "Motherhood is not bad. It's a very decent movie. I've seen movies that are not half as good."

In fact, Motherhood, which also features Minnie Driver, Anthony Edwards and a cameo by Jodie Foster, cannot lay claim to the dubious title of Britain's lowest-ever grossing film on its opening weekend: that honour is taken by My Nikifor, the 2007 film about Polish artist Nikifor Krynicki, which took just £7 on its launch.

But it has, according to the veteran film critic Barry Norman, confounded expectations of quite how resounding a flop a mainstream film featuring a bona fide star can be. "Good God. I have never heard of anything like this before," he said. "This is not some small, independent movie. It's astonishing that only about 11 people could be bothered to go and see Uma Thurman.

"The reviews were very poor indeed but that alone isn't enough to explain this. It's a reasonable assumption that there was a marketing and advertising catastrophe, and people didn't know it was showing. But it should have attracted more than 11 people in passing trade alone. Apollo cinemas, after all, aren't in tucked-away places. They're all prominently located. I'm baffled."

The film is no longer being shown at a single cinema across Britain. Indeed, it has sunk so quickly and untraceably that, back at the Apollo West End, it has not even left a ripple.

The woman behind the popcorn counter in Piccadilly Circus didn't remember the screening at all. "It's very strange," she admitted. "Even if I'm not paying attention to what's being screened here, I can usually tell you every film because customers talk to each other and the names just stick in your head. But I'm sure I've never heard that one being mentioned."

The man selling tickets also had no memory. "Have you got the right cinema?" he asked, looking puzzled. "There's another cinema down the road – perhaps it was on there instead?"

I love the clueless comments from the producer. Yeah, I'm sure the fact that the movie was bad, or that it had already been released and failed in the US, had nothing to do with no one wanting to see your terrible movie. The sheep should be flocking to it on name alone, because after all, that's what matters right?

TheFlyingOrc

03-26-2010, 05:16 PM

I love the clueless comments from the producer. Yeah, I'm sure the fact that the movie was bad, or that it had already been released and failed in the US, had nothing to do with no one wanting to see your terrible movie. The sheep should be flocking to it on name alone, because after all, that's what matters right?

Are you kidding me? Normally you'd see more sales than this from ANY movie regardless of quality or actors. Something with a real star in it? Yeah, this is unusual, and he's right to say so.

J Arcane

03-26-2010, 05:19 PM

Are you kidding me? Normally you'd see more sales than this from ANY movie regardless of quality or actors. Something with a real star in it? Yeah, this is unusual, and he's right to say so.
I don't think it's that big a surprise when a movie that already bombed critically and commercially elsewhere in the English speaking world fails to do well at all in a market that, due to delayed release, is now potentially already quite aware how bad the film is.

Telefrog

03-26-2010, 05:42 PM

I don't think it's that big a surprise when a movie that already bombed critically and commercially elsewhere in the English speaking world fails to do well at all in a market that, due to delayed release, is now potentially already quite aware how bad the film is.

I would agree except for the fact that films bomb (critically and commercially) overseas and sell a lot more tickets here on opening, and vice versa, even when it opens much later in one territory. One ticket!? That's unheard of bad performance. Delgo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delgo_(film)), the previous holder of the failed launch record, averaged £158 per screen in the UK after it's disasterous US launch two weeks before.

Look at the US box office performance (http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=motherhood.htm) for Motherhood. It's awful, and perhaps rightfully so, but you can't tell me that it's based solely on the quality of the movie. According to professional reviews and viewer ratings (what few there are) it's a better movie than When In Rome, Old Dogs, Cop Out, The Bounty Hunter, and Did You Hear About The Morgans. Somehow, Motherhood managed to make less gross than any of those other really bad movies.

I don't think it's completely unfair to say that there are probably other factors than the audience's discerning taste at work here.

Chaos Machine

03-26-2010, 05:48 PM

it was released at only 48 theaters nationwide, what do you expect? though on a per theater average its still pretty terribad.

Widgetcraft

03-26-2010, 05:50 PM

A) It's a terrible movie.

B) It has a god-awful title.

Let's be real here: If people were educated about what they watched at the cinema, they wouldn't go to see Motherhood because of the poor quality of the movie. If someone were the type to just walk into a theater and just pick a movie based on the posters, the only people who would be seeing Motherhood would be women (likely single-mothers). How many of those do you see just meandering down to a theater alone?

I'm like 99% certain that I would never, ever walk into a theater to see a movie titled Motherhood. I think I would rather go to the dentist. I know I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but I can't imagine ever even giving it a chance short of it being some kind of sci-fi horror flick about an alien queen.

Urizen

03-26-2010, 05:52 PM

Are you kidding me? Normally you'd see more sales than this from ANY movie regardless of quality or actors. Something with a real star in it? Yeah, this is unusual, and he's right to say so.

Agreed. Even if there was a madly effective and popular boycott of any movie, the film still manages to earn something, somewhere. Sometimes, that happens as a directly result of people protesting the boycott.

This occurrence is definitely uncanny.

Chris_D

03-26-2010, 06:51 PM

Having Uma Thurman in it is more than enough reason for me to avoid just about any movie.

johnperkins21

03-26-2010, 07:01 PM

Why are people referring to Uma Thurman as a star? She's abysmal, and as Chris D noted, worth avoiding.

Uma Thurman is to star as paper cut is to life-threatening injury.

Adam Blue

03-26-2010, 07:03 PM

It was playing on the plane ride to Brazil back in January. It's really not a bad movie. There are plenty worse. Especially as a parent there's some connections to be made. I would never go out of my way to see it, but it wasn't painful to watch by any means.

Wraith

03-26-2010, 08:39 PM

Edelbaum is adamant that Metrodome must be to blame, and insisted that she would demand a full explanation. "Think how much crap succeeds at the cinema," she said. "Motherhood is not bad. It's a very decent movie. I've seen movies that are not half as good."Hey, blame the movie-going public, but don't blame the Metrodome. What did it ever do to you? :D

It opened in a few cinema's with no fanfare whatsoever, an awful title and against a current state of cinema releases that SCREAM months/years in advance "I'M COMING!!!".

Still, that is a terrible opening.

muddi900

03-27-2010, 05:26 AM

9 pounds is weak. But that says nothing about the quality, crappy as it may be.

Also, is the Metrodome the long lost brother of the Millenium Dome.

bstiff

03-27-2010, 08:39 AM

Having Uma Thurman in it is more than enough reason for me to avoid just about any movie.

This. I don't think she would even have an acting career if she wasn't scorsese's poster girl. Every movie I've seen her in, she's been meh.

muddi900

03-27-2010, 09:21 AM

Has she ever been in a Scorcese movie?:confused:

bstiff

03-27-2010, 09:23 AM

Has she ever been in a Scorcese movie?:confused:

Sorry my bad. I meant tarantino. Hadn't had my coffee yet and I had just watched goodfellas again recently.

bstiff

03-27-2010, 09:26 AM

...That is an extraordinarily ugly building.

It looks like a giant dumpling.

Widgetcraft

03-27-2010, 10:15 AM

It looks like a giant dumpling.

I was thinking either a very flat marshmallow, or an ugly throw pillow.

jpublic

03-27-2010, 10:46 AM

According to professional reviews and viewer ratings (what few there are) it's a better movie than When In Rome, Old Dogs, Cop Out, The Bounty Hunter, and Did You Hear About The Morgans. Somehow, Motherhood managed to make less gross than any of those other really bad movies.

Cop Out was awesome.

Well, no, but I thought it was worth the matinee ticket.

muddi900

03-27-2010, 11:29 AM

Didn't you get the memo, Cop Out IS awesome! If you disagree fuck you.
#kevinsmithisabitch.

Sorry, I just lost any respect I had for the guy due to twitter.

Vigil80

03-27-2010, 12:53 PM

Cop Out was cute. Not the best descriptor for a cop movie - even a comedy - but I wasn't angry I'd paid to see it or anything.

As for this movie, definitely seems like the trouble started with advertising. I like going to the theater and generally keep up with releases, and this thread is the first I've ever heard of Motherhood.

Widgetcraft

03-27-2010, 02:50 PM

Kevin Smith directed a movie starring Tracy Morgan? :(

MagGnome

03-28-2010, 02:37 PM

Hey, blame the movie-going public, but don't blame the Metrodome. What did it ever do to you? :D